


Living Amongst Giants

by Haberdasher



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-28
Updated: 2017-01-28
Packaged: 2019-09-23 14:32:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17082098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Haberdasher/pseuds/Haberdasher
Summary: The story of a colony living amongst giants.





	Living Amongst Giants

Ever since we first settled here, we have been living amongst giants.

They tower over us, their footsteps shaking the ground whenever they walk. Most of the time, they ignore us, but when they want our attention, we are all but powerless to resist them. Sometimes they give us food and ask nothing in return. Sometimes they hit us with all their might, taking pleasure in our suffering, in our impotent crying and futile struggle to escape. If there is a way to tell the difference beforehand, we have yet to learn it.

Though many among us have had these casual encounters with the giants, both good and bad, this is only the beginning of how they have affected our lives. For a number of us, the giants have shown their power, their complete control over our lives and well-being, in a way that is even more terrifying: abduction.

They grab several of us at once, those unfortunate enough to be out when the kidnapping spree begins, those who are too slow or too oblivious to hide in safety when the danger presents itself. They never abduct the same individual twice. A handful of those that are taken never return, but most of them are brought back by the giants in a few days’ time.

Those that return remember little of their ordeal, only vague aches and pains and foggy memories of bright lights and loud noises, but their bodies tell the story that their minds cannot. They return with one ear damaged, a large chunk of its flesh missing, though their hearing is as sensitive as ever. They return with scars around their nether regions, their most private places disturbed by the giants’ meddling. And no matter how long they live or how well they thrive- and they usually do thrive, despite the trauma of this experience- those who were abducted will never have children again.

We can only guess at what happens to those who never come back, but every once in a while, an escapee from the giants’ world joins our colony, and we get to learn their story.

Where these escapees originate is uncertain, as they generally claim not to know their own origins outside of the giants’ realm, and it is nearly unheard of for them to be previously known to us (in these rare cases, the escapees barely resemble their former selves). They spin stories of the giants’ world being a magical place where there is no cold, no darkness, no hunger. But if we here in the wilderness are subject to the giants’ whims, those kept among them are much more so- upset their providers, and the wondrous world they take for granted comes crashing down. When they come here, they know nothing of survival, having never had to work for their food or find their own shelter. Worse yet, many of them have been mutilated by the giants, their limbs hacked off at the knuckle so as to leave them even more defenseless. Even if they manage to survive in our world, many of them are unable to have children, and they share the telltale scars of the abducted.

To be sure, some of the giants appear to be kind, and we do receive gifts from them from time to time, be it food or toys or just gentle caresses. Some even claim that we would not be here if it weren’t for the giants, that we are nothing but the descendants of those helpless refugees from the giants’ realm. Their presence is strange and paradoxical, and though I occasionally dream of existing free from their interference, it is hard to imagine such a life. For better or for worse, the giants are here to stay just as we are.


End file.
